On 28 June 2018, businesses and organisations in Colne voted in favour of establishing a Business Improvement District (BID) for the central commercial area of Colne.

Of 117 votes cast in the ballot, 87 were in favour, representing a majority of the votes cast, and a majority of the aggregate rateable value.

The result of the ballot means that the Proposal to establish a BID in Colne has been approved under the provisions of the Local Government Act 2003 and The Business Improvement Districts (England) Regulations 2004. The BID Proposal can be viewed here.

The BID Proposal states that ‘a new BID operating company will be set up as a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee with a board of directors drawn from, and representative of, the diverse business and organisational interests within the Colne BID area. All businesses eligible to vote in the BID ballot will be invited to nominate themselves or other eligible persons as candidates for election to become directors of the BID company and oversee the delivery of the BID’.

By the end of July, we will be inviting nominations from local business people to become a director and founding member of the Colne BID company, to play a leading role in developing this exciting, new business-led initiative in Colne. Letters inviting nominations have gone out to around 300 businesses. A nomination form is enclosed with the letter and available here.

The deadline for nominations is Monday 20 August 2018.

Nominations are open to all prospective BID levy payers, and they are also invited to attend the inaugural meeting of the Colne BID to be held 5.45pm Tuesday 4 September 2018 at Colne Town Hall.

Colne BID is scheduled to start on 1 October 2018 and will run for a term of 5 years.

If you have a business in Colne, get involved in this exciting new initiative!